The Starbucks Smart Mug Is All We Want for Christmas

If you thought toting around one of the now-famous Starbucks red cups this holiday season was all you needed to stay warm and look cool, guess again. Because no one should ever fear cold coffee, the Starbucks smart mug is dropping just in time for Christmas wish-lists across the country. The Starbucks smart mug is made by Ember, the mug manufacturers that launched with a massively successful Indiegogo campaign to create smart mugs that allow users to dial in specific temperatures from their smartphones. Gone are the days when USB mug warmers were the best option you had for keeping your coffee mug cool.

Ember smart mug technology allows users to control the temperature of their coffee by placing their travel mug on a charging pad, which connects to the internet by way of an app. Users can dial in both hot and cold temperatures, making their coffee extremely customizable in the process. Ember founder Clay Alexander first founded the company in 2012 in order to make "heat-controlling dishware," so, plates, mugs, and bowls that could stay warm throughout the course of a meal to maximize flavor. The Ember smart mug is but the first in a series of products Alexander hopes to launch through his company.

If you want to get your hands on the Ember smart mug, one of your best bets will be to go to Starbucks—so long as you're near one of the 100 stores that will stock the product. The smart mug will set you back $150, but getting your hands on one will put you on par with a few early-adopting celebrities, such as Demi Lovato and football player Ndamukong Suh. Which, I mean, I guess is worth spending a buck-fifty on a mug.

There's no telling what other products might come next after the Starbucks smart mug partnership takes flight for Ember. But Alexander suggests that baby bottles and dishware are in the offing. So if you want to take a sip of the future, you'll finally have your chance—if you happen to be blessed by geography and deep pockets.